Mass spectrometry is a powerful tool for elucidating the elemental composition of a sample or molecule. More recently, it has been used to characterize biological material, in particular proteins and protein complexes, in a variety of organisms. In this lecture, we will review the underlying principles of how a mass spectrometer works, discuss up to date instrumentation that is presently being used in the biological research setting and provide specific examples of how mass spectrometry is being used to reveal functional insight into different biological systems.